Riders release Charleston Hughes ahead of CFL free agency

One of the CFL’s all-time sack leaders is heading to free agency.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders announced Wednesday they had released defensive end Charleston Hughes ahead of free agency. The 37-year-old’s contract was set to expire next Tuesday.

“After ongoing negotiations that took place over the last several weeks, we were unable to come to an agreement with Charleston,” Roughriders vice-president of football operations Jeremy O’Day said in a media release.

“While we are disappointed, we want to thank Charleston for his dedication to the Riders and to the Saskatchewan community during his time with the Club.”

Hughes — whose Twitter handle during his time with the Roughriders was @sackatchawen — currently ranks eighth on the all-time CFL sacks list with 130.

“It makes me feel like I want to go somewhere where I’m wanted,” Hughes told the Green Zone on Wednesday, moments after the Riders released him.

“It was a great time of really playing for (the coaches in Saskatchewan) but in the end you’ve got to go somewhere where you’re wanted. In the end, with this negotiation process, I guess I’m not wanted.

“I feel like my performance shows that I should be the highest(-paid defensive end) in the league but when it comes down to it, everyone’s value is different on different teams.”

He pointed to the contract defensive end Willie Jefferson signed with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as an example of a team really wanting to keep the player under contract.

“When it came down to it, I sent my last and final offer, which was a pay cut for myself,” Hughes said. “When I (send that offer out) and it still doesn’t work out, then it’s time to part ways.”

Hughes also discussed how tough it is leaving the team with which he has spent the past two seasons.

“It sucks not being able to play, especially in front of all those fans,” he said. “Those fans, to me, was what made it a joy to play here.

“That was the best part of me being here was experiencing the fans from a totally different perspective from them booing you (as an opponent) but now they’re cheering at you the whole time during the game or every single sack I got.”

Teams across the CFL are adjusting to different spending habits in 2020. Members of the Roughriders have taken pay cuts when they signed their contracts for 2021.

Hughes said he doesn’t understand why O’Day couldn’t meet his demands.

“I’m not in his position and during a crazy pandemic like this, every team has their own set of struggles,” Hughes said. “I’m pretty sure every team is going to go through a crazy loophole but that’s what it comes down to — it’s about how you manage your money, making sure you put your money in the right places. So if I’m not the right place, I hope you find someone who is.”

Hughes said he has had a few teams call, indicating a decision on where he plays next could be made soon.

With a cancelled 2020 season, it has been over a year since CFL players suited up for a game. Hughes said the time off has been tough.

“Having all this time off has been boring as all hell and it makes you figure out that I miss the game (and) I can’t wait to get back on the field,” he said.

“I feel great. I feel awesome. I did have surgery about a year ago … I had a whole year off to recover and figure out all the small things that I had to figure out so it really played into my hand.”

Hughes was traded to the Roughriders on Feb. 2, 2018, by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in exchange for quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Hamilton had acquired Hughes from the Calgary Stampeders earlier that day.

Hughes played 34 regular-season games with the Green and White. During his two seasons with the team, he recorded 31 sacks, 85 defensive tackles, seven forced fumbles and two touchdowns.

Hughes has been named a CFL all-star six times (2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) and he was the Roughriders’ nominee for the CFL award as most outstanding defensive player in 2019.

Hughes played 10 seasons with Calgary before joining the Riders, winning two Grey Cups.

Hughes said he wants to join a team with a win-now mentality.

“I’ve never been on a losing team,” he said. “I’ve never been on a team that hasn’t made the playoffs, so I don’t plan on getting on a team that doesn’t want to win and doesn’t want to make the playoffs.”